A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va., investigating leaks of
classified intelligence information to the press, has subpoenaed
(PDF) national security whistleblower Russell Tice, who has
previously acknowledged being a source for the New York Times
story on President Bush’s terrorist surveillance program.

Tice, who has said he refused to divulge classified information
to the press, but only to people with the necessary security
clearances, called the subpoena an attempt to harass and
intimidate him into remaining silent about government
wrongdoing.

In December, Justice opened a criminal investigation after the
New York Times disclosed the existence of the eavesdropping
program, which allows the NSA to monitor telephone calls to and
from the United States without a court order if one party is
suspected of links to terrorist groups. The documents released
yesterday do not make it clear whether the grand jury is focused
on that report or on some other disclosure.

Tice has publicly identified himself as a possible source for
the report, saying that he talked to Times reporters before it
was published. He also has said he believes he was fired by the
NSA last year because he complained of possible Chinese
espionage at the agency, and he has since sought to testify
before Congress about “probable unlawful and unconstitutional
acts” by the NSA director and other senior administration
officials.

Tice said in an interview that he viewed the subpoena as an
attempt at intimidation by the government. “This is the king
saying, ‘How dare anyone challenge my authority and say that I’m
a crook or a criminal?’” he said. — Washington Post

“What we are seeing here is a government desperate to cover up
its criminal and unconstitutional conduct. They now are going
beyond the usual retaliation against whistleblowers who
courageously come forward to report cases of government fraud,
waste, abuse, and in some cases such as this one, criminal
actions,” said Sibel Edmonds, director of the National Security
Whistleblowers Coalition in a news release.

“Their old tactics of intimidation, gag orders, and firing, have
not stopped an unprecedented number of whistleblowers from
coming forward and doing the right thing. Desperate to prevent
the public’s right to know, they now are getting engaged in a
witch hunt targeting these patriotic truth tellers.”

In February, Tice testified in an open hearing before the House
Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats, and
International Relations on the lack of protection for
intelligence whistleblowers. And in May he met with Senate
staffers cleared for special access programs, one of the highest
categories of secrets, and told all. Now, it seems, everyone on
the Hill wants to hear from him.

“To this date I have pursued all the appropriate channels to
report unlawful and unconstitutional acts conducted while I
served as an intelligence officer with the NSA and DIA,” Tice
said in a statement Friday. “It was with my oath as a US
intelligence officer to protect and preserve the U.S.
Constitution weighing heavy on my mind that I reported acts that
I know to be unlawful and unconstitutional.”

“The freedom of the American people cannot be protected when our
constitutional liberties are ignored and our nation has decayed
into a police state.”

A Justice Department official, who would discuss the
confidential criminal investigation only on condition of
anonymity, said that the leak inquiry was in a preliminary
investigative phase and that no journalist had been subpoenaed.
The official said federal agents had interviewed officials at
several intelligence agencies about their contacts with
reporters at The Times and other news organizations. — New York
Times

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said he would not rule out the
possibility of calling reporters before the grand jury.

The major problem is that national security whistleblowers have
very little process for reporting wrongdoing, and when they do,
their reports are frequently ignored, or result in retaliation.
Because of this, whistleblowers often see no other choice than
to go to the press.

How far do you think the government will go to get Tice and
other whistleblowers, and the journalists who report what they
say, to keep quiet?
Filed under: Politics, Homeland Security, Terrorism,
Intelligence